In May 1940, Operation Dynamo, an armada of mostly fishing vessels and privately owned boats, set sail across the English Channel. Thanks to them, 225,000 British and 125,000 French troops were rescued from the Dunkirk beaches. Had they not been rescued the Germans were coming…
May 1940 – Operation Dynamo: Three men being rescued from the sea after having to abandon ship as they were evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk. They cling to a ladder let down by their rescuers.
June 1940 – Operation Dynamo: Members of the British Expeditionary Force arrive back in Britain with a Union Jack after being evacuated from Dunkirk.
circa 1940: An Indian member of the Indian Army Services Corps, some of whom were evacuated from Dunkirk together with the British Expeditionary Force. (Photo by Fred Ramage/Keystone/Getty Images)
1940: Troops aboard a train, having returned from Dunkirk as part of the British Expeditionary Force. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
1940: Up to their necks in water, retreating soldiers have to struggle through the sea because the waiting ships could not get closer to the Dunkirk beach. (Photo by Bert Hardy/Keystone/Getty Images)
1940: Troops continue to arrive home in their thousands following the rescue of the British Expeditionary Forces at Dunkirk. This member of the BEF has brought a German rifle home as a souvenir. (Photo by Parker/Fox Photos/Getty Images)
1940: Soldiers from the British Expeditionary Force returning to France after leave. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
1940: Children rush up to a train carrying BEF men back from Dunkirk. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
1940: Two soldiers tuck in to the food and refreshment they received after their arrival in Britain, after evacuation from Dunkirk. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
Refreshments for French soldiers and marines on arrival in England
Over 338, 000 Allied troops were brought back to England
French marines and soldiers arrive at a south coast English town after fighting the rear guard action in Dunkirk, June 1940. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
June 1940: Voluntary helpers give refreshments to wounded soldiers, members of the British Expeditionary Force, on board a hospital train. (Photo by J. A. Hampton/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
31st May 1940: Members of the British forces arrive home by train after being evacuated from Dunkirk. (Photo by H. F. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
31st May 1940: Members of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) smiling happily at a halt in their journey as they arrive safely in England after escape from Dunkirk. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
A soldier of the British Expeditionary Force, arriving back from Dunkirk, is greeted affectionately by his girlfriend. (Photo by Topical Press/Getty Images)
May 1940: Thousands of soldiers line up to be evacuated from Dunkirk. Of the 250,000 British troops (the British Expeditionary Force) stranded at Dunkirk after the fall of Belgium, 30,000 were lost in the heroic rescue, as well as all their equipment. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
1st May 1940: A long drink for a member of the BEF at the end of his journey home from Dunkirk. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
May 1940: A British ship rescues soldiers from a landing craft sunk during an operation. (Photo by Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
May 1940: A British ship rescues soldiers from a landing craft sunk during an operation.
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